Someone Is Edited Out of the ‘Avengers’ Super Bowl Ad – But Who?

Are we seeing things? Or maybe not seeing things, in this case? It sure looks like someone edited out of the Avengers: EndgameSuper Bowl ad. But who? Ah, that’s the question.

First, take a look at the evidence. Here’s the trailer itself:

Did you spot the moment? Take a look for yourself where it really looks like someone was removed from a group shot of Avengers:

(There’s also this shot where someone looks like they’re missing, but it’s really pronounced here.)

Now it’s possible that the surviving Avengers — Black Widow, Captain America, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes — were just weirdly spaced out as they walked out of their headquarters. But it seems unlikely. This shot raises two questions: Which Avenger got cut out of this shot? And what are they looking at up in the sky?

My guesses for the first question:

Captain Marvel: Although we know Captain Marvel’s going to show up at some point in Avengers: Endgame thanks to the post-credits scene of Infinity War, we don’t know when or how. If she has shown up by this point in the film, Marvel may want to keep that secret.

Hawkeye/Ronin: They did show Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in his new costume in the first full trailer for Avengers: Endgame. But, again, exactly how he fits into the plot is a secret and Marvel might have felt putting him here was too big of a giveaway.

Iron Man: The first trailer makes it seem like Tony Stark’s got no hope of returning to Earth and is about to die in deep space. So showing him just chilling on the Avengers HQ lawn with Steve, Bruce, Rhodey, and Natasha is probably more of a spoiler than Marvel would want out in the world.

Forbush Man: We never saw Forbush man die in Avengers: Infinity War! Think of what a huge shock that would be if he joined the Avengers in Endgame!

As for the second question, who they’re looking at, here’s a few likely candidates:

Iron Man: The new Super Bowl ad shows Tony and Nebula working feverishly on something, perhaps repairing their space ship in order to return to Earth. It would be pretty anticlimactic if Iron Man actually did just croak alone in outer space. This could be a shot of his big dramatic arrival on Earth.

Captain Marvel: Speaking of dramatic arrivals on Earth, maybe this is the moment Captain Marvel answers Nick Fury’s page and shows up and the rest of the Avengers are like “Dude, took you long enough, half of everyone is already dead!”

Adam Warlock: I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that some character we haven’t seen in a previous Marvel Cinematic Universe movie — like Adam Warlock, a character who is known for his association with with the Infinity Stones — could show up to stir the Avengers to action.

Thanos: Think there’s a chance Thanos comes back to gloat? He’s kind of a jerk; this could be him showing up to spike the proverbial football in the Avengers’ faces after he gets bored of just hanging out on his farm.